Bryan, JT, Luci and I work here every Thursday morning. Bryan made this video, to be shown before our worship service, to show everyone what goes on at The Friendship Center.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Bowling
Friday I took JT and Luci bowling with our homeschool group. It is the last week for KidsBowlFree at our bowling alley, so we all wanted to take advantage of it.
This story isn't about the bowling, really. It's about Luci and her Luci-isms. When we got there, they were putting names on the board and wanted to know what names Luci and JT wanted to play under (because we all like to pretend to be something else, of course).
JT chose his own name (how boring!). Luci said she wanted to be "Farrah."
Farrah? There is no way she knows who Farrah Fawcett was. I pulled Luci aside and said, "Why Farrah? Where did you hear that name? I didn't know that you knew the name 'Farrah.'"
Luci gave me one of those looks that I thought only teens knew. You know the one, the "I can't believe you are so dense, Mother!" look.
M-o-o-o-m! You know! From Snow White. "Who's the Farrah Stov The Mall!"
Repeat that phrase a couple of times and you'll catch it.
This story isn't about the bowling, really. It's about Luci and her Luci-isms. When we got there, they were putting names on the board and wanted to know what names Luci and JT wanted to play under (because we all like to pretend to be something else, of course).
JT chose his own name (how boring!). Luci said she wanted to be "Farrah."
Farrah? There is no way she knows who Farrah Fawcett was. I pulled Luci aside and said, "Why Farrah? Where did you hear that name? I didn't know that you knew the name 'Farrah.'"
Luci gave me one of those looks that I thought only teens knew. You know the one, the "I can't believe you are so dense, Mother!" look.
M-o-o-o-m! You know! From Snow White. "Who's the Farrah Stov The Mall!"
Repeat that phrase a couple of times and you'll catch it.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Heard Recently
Yes, that title gets used too often.
That's just the way it is. So there.
Toola-Hoops: Flowers. You might know them as "Tulips."
Me: Let's call Daddy and you can ask him for a little sister. Because he's the one who has to decide that.
Luci shook her head no, knowing the answer. She put her head in her hands: I'm never getting a little sister!
Yes, I did play with Luci after that anguished cry. How could I not?
That's just the way it is. So there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toola-Hoops: Flowers. You might know them as "Tulips."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luci was begging her brothers to play with her. They said, "No." Begging Mommy. Mommy said, "Just a minute." Luci wailed,I wish I had a little sister! Then she would play with me!
Me: Let's call Daddy and you can ask him for a little sister. Because he's the one who has to decide that.
Luci shook her head no, knowing the answer. She put her head in her hands: I'm never getting a little sister!
Yes, I did play with Luci after that anguished cry. How could I not?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was working on a crossword puzzle. I knew the answer, but asked Bryan to help anyways.
Me: Six letters, "Fish Flock."
Bryan: Government Institution.
Me, scratching my head at first, knowing that answer was way beyond six letters. What was the boy thinking? Ahh. School.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Since I'm too busy to come up with anything original...
here's something great from The Secular Homeschooler:
1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
.
2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.
.
3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.
.
4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.
.
5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.
.
6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.
.
7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.
.
8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
.
9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.
.
10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.
.
11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
.
12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.
.
13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky. (and paying full price--comment from me)
.
14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.
.
15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.
.
16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.
.
17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.
.
18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.
.
19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.
.
20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.
.
21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.
.
22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.
23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.
.
24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
.
25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!
by Deborah Markus
.
2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.
.
3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.
.
4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.
.
5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.
.
6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.
.
7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.
.
8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
.
9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.
.
10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.
.
11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
.
12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.
.
13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky. (and paying full price--comment from me)
.
14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.
.
15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.
.
16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.
.
17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.
.
18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.
.
19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.
.
20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.
.
21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.
.
22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.
23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.
.
24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
.
25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Too Busy to Write
Aw, man! I love to write. Even if no one is reading but me (but John, you should be reading! You had better let me know that you saw this), I love to blather on.
It's just been too busy lately to write as much as I'd like. School, working at church once a week, karate, homeschool group, what else--there has to be something else. Constant juggling act. Add to that the constant, "He's bothering me!" "He's breathing funny!" "He's breathing!" (not kidding on that one) and all the touching and climbing on mommy. There is only so much physical touch I can take (tickling is torture! and don't you dare touch my neck). Noise, too. Sensory Integration Disorder is what they call it.
So, I am feeling overwhelmed lately. Ready to crash by 6 p.m. Thank God for John who does the dishes after supper! If not for that gift of service, I think we'd be up to our elbows in dirty dishes.
Well, tomorrow morning is karate at the Y, and then lessons with all three kids. So I had better get to bed.
Chip-Chat: small talk. As in,
Mommy, I want to have all my friends over to play. Then all you mommies can sit around and chip-chat.
It's just been too busy lately to write as much as I'd like. School, working at church once a week, karate, homeschool group, what else--there has to be something else. Constant juggling act. Add to that the constant, "He's bothering me!" "He's breathing funny!" "He's breathing!" (not kidding on that one) and all the touching and climbing on mommy. There is only so much physical touch I can take (tickling is torture! and don't you dare touch my neck). Noise, too. Sensory Integration Disorder is what they call it.
So, I am feeling overwhelmed lately. Ready to crash by 6 p.m. Thank God for John who does the dishes after supper! If not for that gift of service, I think we'd be up to our elbows in dirty dishes.
Well, tomorrow morning is karate at the Y, and then lessons with all three kids. So I had better get to bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before I sign off, I will leave you with a Luci-ism from this past week:Chip-Chat: small talk. As in,
Mommy, I want to have all my friends over to play. Then all you mommies can sit around and chip-chat.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Pillow Talk
Luci at age three, looking for her Groom
Let's see if I can describe this so you can "hear" it correctly, the way it happened.
Luci and I were laying down, just before she fell asleep. (Yes, she still needs me to be there when she falls asleep. That's just the way it is.) Our faces were pretty close, we were looking at each other. She began asking questions in a sing-song voice, sounding more like a teen-aged, giggly young lady than a 5 year old.
So, did you meet Daddy on the Internet?
What? Did you hear about that on a commercial? Online dating?
Yes.
No, I met Daddy.... (and the story goes on, about nosy cousin Nancy always fixing me up with "eligible bachelors," blah blah blah).
Tell me about when he asked you to marry him!!!
blah, blah, blah (only I did use real words and told the story)
Where did you get married?
She knows that answer, but blah, blah happened anyways.
And then, with this big, silly grin on her face:
So, tell me all about your dress!!!
Yes, there really were three exclamation points after that question. And lots of disappointment that I did not have a "poofy" dress or "poofy" hair. Then Luci proceeded to tell me all about her wedding, and how big and "poofy" her hair and dress would be, and how fantastic the ice sculpture on top of her wedding cake would be. I didn't have the heart to tell her the ice would melt and make her lovely cake all smooshy.
Hey, I'm just thankful that she stopped asking questions before she got to the honeymoon. {blush}
1991--seems like yesterday!
Let's see if I can describe this so you can "hear" it correctly, the way it happened.
Luci and I were laying down, just before she fell asleep. (Yes, she still needs me to be there when she falls asleep. That's just the way it is.) Our faces were pretty close, we were looking at each other. She began asking questions in a sing-song voice, sounding more like a teen-aged, giggly young lady than a 5 year old.
So, did you meet Daddy on the Internet?
What? Did you hear about that on a commercial? Online dating?
Yes.
No, I met Daddy.... (and the story goes on, about nosy cousin Nancy always fixing me up with "eligible bachelors," blah blah blah).
Tell me about when he asked you to marry him!!!
blah, blah, blah (only I did use real words and told the story)
Where did you get married?
She knows that answer, but blah, blah happened anyways.
And then, with this big, silly grin on her face:
So, tell me all about your dress!!!
Yes, there really were three exclamation points after that question. And lots of disappointment that I did not have a "poofy" dress or "poofy" hair. Then Luci proceeded to tell me all about her wedding, and how big and "poofy" her hair and dress would be, and how fantastic the ice sculpture on top of her wedding cake would be. I didn't have the heart to tell her the ice would melt and make her lovely cake all smooshy.
Hey, I'm just thankful that she stopped asking questions before she got to the honeymoon. {blush}
1991--seems like yesterday!
Monday, August 16, 2010
K through 12 School
As I grew up, schools were fairly well segregated according to age. Kindergarten-6 (and some didn't even have K!). Then came the junior high, then high school.
Here in our county, in the rural areas, we have K-12. Just imagining the kids all in together was funny to me, because I'd never experienced that. We (the five of us kids) were always on different buses, going to different schools. (Except for that one year when Dad was deployed to SE Asia, and we all rode the same bus! We were in first through twelfth grades. But it still delivered us to at least three different schools.)
So, John's older kids went to a K-12 school. So odd! It made more sense when I found out the total population for the high school (grades 9-12) was about as big as my graduating class at Meridian High 'way back when.
And now, we have our own K-12 school right here!
Introducing the student body of the
Here in our county, in the rural areas, we have K-12. Just imagining the kids all in together was funny to me, because I'd never experienced that. We (the five of us kids) were always on different buses, going to different schools. (Except for that one year when Dad was deployed to SE Asia, and we all rode the same bus! We were in first through twelfth grades. But it still delivered us to at least three different schools.)
So, John's older kids went to a K-12 school. So odd! It made more sense when I found out the total population for the high school (grades 9-12) was about as big as my graduating class at Meridian High 'way back when.
And now, we have our own K-12 school right here!
Introducing the student body of the
K-12
Willingham School for the Exceptionally Brilliant
Okay, so it's from last Christmas. It shows their faces, and they are all smiling! So there.
Heard Recently
watching a Princess movie: That stepmother is a spoiled rat!
wanting to get a butterfly garden: I want to get some calla-pitters for it.
watching the end of Star Wars IV, commenting on Princess Leia's hair-do change:
Look! She took off her cinnamon buns!
wanting to get a butterfly garden: I want to get some calla-pitters for it.
watching the end of Star Wars IV, commenting on Princess Leia's hair-do change:
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Dress Up
Luci dresses up in different outfits all the time, asking if she looks "real." She might be a tiger, a teacher, a princess.
Last week she came to me, asking, "Do I look like a real Mommy?"
Of course, dear. Especially since I wear my glass slippers around the house all the time. You got all the details right!
Last week she came to me, asking, "Do I look like a real Mommy?"
Monday, August 09, 2010
Two More Luci-isms
Luci got her first pair of cowboy boots a few days ago. They are pinky/purple, of course.
Luci asked yesterday,
Why are they cowboys when they don't ride cows?
Why are they cowboys when they don't ride cows?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And tonight:
At supper every night it has gotten to be tradition for me to say to John the, well, traditional:
How was your day, Dear?
Tonight, Luci says, in an exasperated voice:
M-o-m, he's not a deer! He is a human! I told you that already!
Friday, August 06, 2010
Luci-isms
Heard this morning:
Mommy, what is that stuff coming out of my eyes?
Is it oil?
Because then it would keep my eyes from going squeak squeak.
Mommy, what is that stuff coming out of my eyes?
Is it oil?
Because then it would keep my eyes from going squeak squeak.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Funny Girl
Luci made a costume for herself at the Friendship Center today. It was lots of fun watching her toddle around in this "Robot" outfit. It was not so much fun shooing her out of the way. I ended up banishing her to the entry area. Bryan captured this 20 second video.
Our Thursdays
We have added working in our church's Friendship Center to our schedule. It's a way to serve in our church, and serve our community. It's a wonderful place. All we had to do was step in and help--the incredible work to get it going was started about four years ago, and it is a well-run labor of love. The ladies and gentlemen there today knew exactly what our kids (and myself) could do to help. There was no "Hmmm....let me see. What could a 14 year old boy or a 5 year old girl do here?" (Bryan was seen as man-sized and therefore he could do heavy lifting. :) )
Luci was put to work "stomping boxes." She helped break down empty boxes from the pantry. She also played with some of the extras.
JT was put to work loading up bags of groceries. Today he filled half of the 70 bags that were prepared for Friday morning.
Bryan worked measuring men's slacks, sorting bags, unloading donations and foodstuffs, and hanging clothes.
I am so impressed that all three children worked well and did not complain. We look forward to Thursdays this year, working with this wonderful ministry.
Luci was put to work "stomping boxes." She helped break down empty boxes from the pantry. She also played with some of the extras.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Field Trip!
Thursday, John came home from work excited about taking us all on a field trip to Cathedral Caverns. He was so animated, ready to go exploring with all of us. He's really taken to heart his "Principal-ship" of our homeschool, leading more than ever. I love that.
Except that on Thursday, right before John got home, all I could think of was how I wanted some time all by myself. Even if that meant sitting in the van in the driveway, with the doors locked. As John told us his plan for Saturday, my eyes began to glaze over. So, seeing Mommy retreating into herself, he revised the plan--it would now be a "Dad takes the kids on a Really! Fun! Trip!" but we couldn't tell Luci about it before arriving there or she'd freeze up and be scared ("Are there monsters there? What about BATS?!" which is precisely what she said once she found out about the CAVE, about 30 minutes before arriving there).
Turns out part of my reluctance was not just a difficult time this week with my high school kids, but that I was coming down with a sinus infection. Oh Joy. At least I didn't have to feel guilty about staying home and missing all the fun.
There were too many shots that were my favorites, so here are a bunch!
So glad that John-Daddy-Principal took this shot before going into Cathedral Caverns: not just to commemorate the occasion but to use as a "my kid's in there lost, here's what he looks like" photo. Notice I didn't say "she" because I know that Luci would be stuck on John like a limpet. Which she was. John said he carried her nearly the entire time. Good thing she's light.
Enjoy!
Except that on Thursday, right before John got home, all I could think of was how I wanted some time all by myself. Even if that meant sitting in the van in the driveway, with the doors locked. As John told us his plan for Saturday, my eyes began to glaze over. So, seeing Mommy retreating into herself, he revised the plan--it would now be a "Dad takes the kids on a Really! Fun! Trip!" but we couldn't tell Luci about it before arriving there or she'd freeze up and be scared ("Are there monsters there? What about BATS?!" which is precisely what she said once she found out about the CAVE, about 30 minutes before arriving there).
Turns out part of my reluctance was not just a difficult time this week with my high school kids, but that I was coming down with a sinus infection. Oh Joy. At least I didn't have to feel guilty about staying home and missing all the fun.
There were too many shots that were my favorites, so here are a bunch!
So glad that John-Daddy-Principal took this shot before going into Cathedral Caverns: not just to commemorate the occasion but to use as a "my kid's in there lost, here's what he looks like" photo. Notice I didn't say "she" because I know that Luci would be stuck on John like a limpet. Which she was. John said he carried her nearly the entire time. Good thing she's light.
Enjoy!
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